San Diego's STR Eviction Fix Has a Fatal Flaw: You Have to Catch Your Own Landlord

San Diego's short-term rental ordinance was supposed to close a loophole that let landlords push out long-term tenants through illegal evictions and immediately list those units on Airbnb. The fix the city is now proposing? Ask the displaced tenants to report it themselves. That's the enforcement model a City Council committee quietly endorsed last week, and it has housing advocates calling the whole thing a paper tiger.

What the Loophole Actually Is

The problem, first exposed by inewsource earlier this year, is straightforward: property owners can carry out a no-fault eviction, clear out long-term renters, and still obtain a short-term rental license from the city. A no-fault eviction is when a landlord ends a lease for reasons unrelated to anything the tenant did wrong. State law allows it under specific circumstances, such as a substantial remodel or a family member moving in, but those circumstances come with strict requirements. Investigators found investors buying multi-family properties, removing tenants through buyouts or no-fault evictions, and posting the units on short-term platforms anyway.

The proposed amendment would give city officials the authority to revoke or deny a license if a property owner is found to have violated the city's Tenant Protection Ordinance. On paper, that sounds like a real consequence. In practice, the city has no plans to check for violations before issuing a license.

The Enforcement Gap That Could Swallow the Rule

"City staff is not going to be proactively looking," Venus Molina, chief of staff to Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, told the Community and Neighborhood Services Committee at City Hall on October 21, 2026. Molina presented the proposed amendments on Campbell's behalf.

Instead, the system works like this: a tenant who believes their home was converted into a vacation rental must contact the city's Housing Protection and Code Compliance Unit. The City Attorney's Office then evaluates whether a violation occurred and, if it did, coordinates with city staff to revoke or decline to issue a license. Chief Deputy City Attorney Corrine Neuffer confirmed that process at the meeting.

Gil Vera, director of the Housing Justice Collaborative with the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, put the problem bluntly. "Most people, when they get that eviction notice, they're going to be worried about 'Where are we going to live? I need to find a new place; I need to start putting applications in,'" Vera said. "I just don't know this is going to be enforced, other than maybe the 1 in 100 squeaky wheel tenant who actually follows through and does the investigation."

Tenants often leave before any formal eviction is ever filed in court, sometimes after nothing more than a text message or a conversation. A violation only surfaces if the former tenant later discovers their old apartment listed on a platform like Airbnb and decides to pursue it.

The Eviction Registry That Never Launched

There was supposed to be a backstop. City officials were working on an eviction notice registry in 2023, a database that would track eviction notices sent to renters and could be cross-referenced against short-term rental applications. The idea stalled. Neuffer acknowledged at the meeting that the city's tenant protection law "requires landlords to notify the Housing Commission when tenants are evicted … once a submission portal is established," but added: "I'm not aware of the status of that particular portal." It is unclear whether officials will revive the effort.

What This Means If You're a Licensed Host

If you are operating a legitimate short-term rental in San Diego, the ordinance that took effect in 2023 still governs your license. The city issues licenses in four tiers, and fees run from $193 to $1,129 per two-year license depending on your tier. Licenses are not transferable and expire two years from issuance. You are required to hold only one license at a time, and Airbnb collects lodging tax on your behalf, though manual tax submission is still required on a monthly basis.

The proposed amendments are aimed at the supply side of the housing market, not at compliant hosts running legitimate operations. But the political environment around San Diego's STR rules remains unsettled. Councilmember Campbell, who championed the original ordinance and whose office proposed these amendments, terms out of office in early December. It is unclear when the full City Council will vote on the changes.

The broader takeaway for hosts: the city's licensing system is under active scrutiny, enforcement mechanisms are being debated in real time, and the rules around who can hold a license may tighten. Staying current on your license status and compliance obligations is not optional.

For the complete San Diego compliance guide including tax calculator, checklist, and daily monitoring, see San Diego, CA STR Regulations.